#aoi x pandor

[merryfortune]

Day 16 / Indigo

Clover and Violets 2021

Ship: not applicable | Aoi/Pandor

Universe: VRAINS

Word Count: 1,659

Rating: T

Tags: Canon Compliant, Post Canon, Past/Referenced Character Death, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Grief

   Having been hurt before by deceiving facades and untrue appearances, Aoi knew better than to wear her heart on a sleeve but with such an abomination on her wrist, the own barricade that Aoi had put up around her heart had begun to crumble because of the inherent wrongness of it.

   Aqua was her partner. The only Ignis - or other Ignis-like creature - which should make a home in her Duel Disc was Aqua. Not Pandor. 

   But to protect herself, not only did Aoi adopt personas and other duplicitous facades of her own, adapting her enemies’ strengths into her own, she knew better than to voice her heightened disagreement with this plan of Revolver’s. So, she accepted this program named Pandor into her Duel Disc even as her grieving heart screeched not to.

   So, she collaborated with this program who seemed amiss. 

   There was something eerie about Pandor’s eyes. They gleamed a bloodlet magenta that was all too knowing. Implying that maybe, just maybe, she knew that Aoi did not approve of her. Or maybe Aoi was imagining such hostility as Pandor went to length after length to assist Aoi how she could in her part of the crusade against the Ai: the last Ignis remaining. 

   What Aoi did not expect was that Pandor would still be by her side when she awoke from the misfortune that had been wreaked upon her when she and Akira had lost their duel to Ai.

   When Playmaker had won against Ai, she and Akira were returned to their apartment. Almost like nothing had even happened but there was a bitter, hollow feeling and neither of them spoke. Even though they had slept for hours - days, even - Aoi was just so, so tired so she retreated into her bedroom to sleep because not thinking was so much easier than thinking.

   There had been so much to sort out - mentally, emotionally, physically - that when Aoi saw that miniature hologram of Pandor rise out of her Duel Disc, that Aoi was just completely and totally exhausted by her appearance. She tore off her Duel Disc and she threw it at the wall.

   She wasn’t Aqua - and she never would be Aqua.

   Her Duel Disc didn’t break when it smashed against her bedroom wall but Pandor’s expression did. She knew when she was not welcome so she disappeared, even when her programming, tailored to the whims and sensitivities of humans, told her not to. That Aoi needed companionship or the space to talk through her feelings but again. She knew when she was not welcome; she had been given that internal warning before around her very own creator, Revolver, after all.

   Aoi wept with her knees to her face in her bed after she had thrown her Duel Disc away. She just needed to get it all out, as wet and ugly as it were.

  Aoi spent a few days trying to readjust to life without Aqua before making the leap to reaching out to Miyu and seeing if they could reconnect. And despite all the fears and tragedies that crushed Aoi’s heart and soul, Miyu was ecstatic to see her. She welcomed her with open arms, as out of the blue seeming as it was.

   Miyu listened readily, if tersely, about Aqua once all the hugging and crying was done and the questions about why and how began bubbling to the surface. Pandor listened in, too. Not recording for the sake of privacy but listening in for the sake of better understanding Aoi. Aoi didn’t even know she was there, lurking beneath the surface with a sorrowful look. 

   Aoi could have spent hours at the hospital with her friend, it felt good to reconnect with Miyu. She wasn’t the exact same person that she was ten years ago but she was still so bright and bubbly and heartwarming. It was relieving for Aoi to know and see that despite her hardships, Miyu was going well. And she felt that knowing why she was taken as a child for that cruel experiment gave her closure she never realised she needed. It was just a shame about Aqua.

   Miyu wished, desperate and forlorn, that she could have met the Water Ignis - and Aoi felt the same. She bit her lip, refraining from mentioning Pandor and how inherently wrong it felt to have a second artificial intelligence inhabit her Duel Disc. Pandor noted the silence but she didn’t mind it. 

   Unfortunately hospital visitor hours came to an end but Aoi felt a lot better about the events of the past few months having finally been able to talk with Miyu about it.

   Aoi returned home via Cafe Nagi, she was feeling a little bit thirsty and a little bit peckish. It was a little bit concerning to hear from Kusanagi that Yusaku was still in the shadows, hiding but she had faith. She hadn’t before meeting up with Miyu but knowing she was doing fine, she wanted to believe that Yusaku was as well. Taking her snack and her drink, Aoi kept going.

   When she got home, it was later than she thought it would be. No wonder she had been feeling hungry earlier, it was basically time for dinner, even if it wasn’t all that dark out because of summer and daylight savings, her body clock hadn’t changed with the digital numbers. 

   Akira wasn’t home either, Aoi was mutably unsurprised to figure out so she retreated into her bedroom, thinking she would get a text saying to program the maid-bot to put dinner on later or, if she was beyond lucky, a text saying he would be home at an hour acceptable eat. So, until then, Aoi figured she wouldn’t do much except unwind. She’d had a big day and it was going to get bigger still.

   Aoi reached out for her phone charger to plug it in to play on and as she did so, Pandor made her presence known. She rose out of the surface of Aoi’s Duel Disc, glitchy and holographic, intangible, and she put a hand on her breast then bowed. Aoi glared.

   “I thought you disappeared.” she spat. “For good.”

   “I was unable to help myself.” Pandor spoke in soothing tones that made Aoi feel prickly and patronised. “I wanted to observe you, if I have done something wrong, I desire to amend it.”

   Aoi wanted to bark at Pandor, telling her she hadn’t done anything wrong but amends didn’t mean much but she didn’t. Instead she huffed and she puffed, holding back tears.

   Pandor tilted her head. “I was hoping having an open dialogue would-”

   “Stop trying to psychoanalyse me!” Aoi snapped. “I’m sick of being poked and prodded, treated like I’m made of glass. I’m fine.”

   “O-oh, my apologies, Blue Maiden, I did not mean to underestimate you.” Pandor murmured.

   “Look, y-your not Aqua and it feels like your trying to force yourself into where she was for me.” Aoi shakily explained.

   “That was not my intention either,” Pandor replied, “is there some way I can prove to you that’s not my intention?”

   Aoi harrumphed, sad and bitter, uncertain what to say.

   Pandor nodded and then she expanded. She drew herself completely out of the Duel Disc and Aoi’s eyes went wide. She was afraid, uncertain as to what to do, and let Pandor project herself outwards to Aoi. Sketchy beams of light projected from the Duel Disc and Pandor knelt in front of her, haloed by this whitish glow. 

   She looked calm; her eyes had a melancholy ache to them and then she spoke, “I know nothing of humans,” she confessed, “my own creator does not trust me because of my predecessors to say nothing of his own, his father. You gave me a glimpse of an outside world I cannot begin to comprehend, I desire you companionship and forgiveness. I just want to understand humanity and be close with these people; form true connections with them. With you. I - I want this because this is all I am programmed to be permitted to want.” 

   Pandor’s speech fell on crestfallen ears. Aoi hiccupped. She clawed at her face, pushing tears out of her eyes. She couldn’t believe it. She was empathising with some automation which only had a fraction of the life and free will that she had. She saw herself and her relationship to Miyu - and even the other Lost Incident Victims such as Yusaku and Takeru - reflected in that. 

   For a robot, she was heartbreakingly earnest and Aoi responded to that. It pierced her heart, as guarded as she was because it was so simple and innocent. She could recall too many people who had tried to get close to her purely because she was connected to SOL Tech, so many people were under the misguided notion she was some princess who had everything. She barely had anything: she felt as though she came from rags, barely seeing any of the riches that had put her in her present position.

   She smiled. “Thank you, Pandor,” she murmured, “I understand you better now. I-I’m sorry for pushing you away. For putting words in your mouth.”

   “You are very kind, Aoi.” Pandor told her. Assured her.

   Aoi smiled a very painful smile and she flung herself forward. She hugged Pandor who raised her hands tentatively, unable to touch Aoi as her arms phased through the hologram. So, she hugged herself, warm and tight, and buried her face in the pixels of Pandor’s neck and shoulders.

   Pandor patted Aoi’s back and she felt it. Aoi could swear she could feel the motion of Pandor’s kindness: her metal hands, her best efforts.

   She wasn’t Aqua. She wasn’t trying to be Aqua but she was trying to be there for Aoi and at the very least, Aoi could appreciate that. It was like the colour indigo as an emotion. Tearful and trying and full of grief, not quite blue but its own thing. 

[wojira]

if someone were to ask me about it i wouldnt even know where to start

[incorrect-vrains-quotes]

Anonymous Said: In season three, I was convinced Pandor was going to turn out to be scheming, based on how she was introduced in the opening song. I adore the sassy but still prim Pandor we ended up getting, but what is your take on what it would look like if she actually had turned out to be evil/scheming?

oh Nonnie, I felt the same way. She was built up very... ominously and I liked how she turned out, Ai vs Pandor was a very fun duel, I was very hype for it. but I wonder about this too. she has an interesting lineage if we can call it that.

its worth pointing out that she was planned from the start - or at least that’s my understanding based on some things I’ve seen here and there and she’s got some parallels to Aqua, I feel: personality, smurfette principle, connections to Aoi Zaizen..... so I feel like there is something there but I’m just feeling like I’m missing a connection to the rest of it but do you know what I’m saying? 

like, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryoken decided to model her from Aqua and he must have intimate knowledge of how the Ignis were formed and even, potentially, their own hierarchies...... so Aqua would be an ideal candidate, no? She is Sub-leader, has a healing capabilities...... much to think about

returning to your question, I think she’s a very self sacrificing evil. For the good of Hanoi, at the deprecation of her own self. Like, nuking herself to nuke the others a la the Tower of Hanoi, truly a Kogami legacy. A good of many outweighs the good (the life) of one. 

although, I am very tempted to spin this to an Ai/Pandor scenario, invoking again that Sheltered Princess x Dashing Rogue dynamic, a Pandor who is swept off her feet and seduced. Radicalised akin to Roboppy. After all, why should she sacrifice herself for a human who does not trust her...? 

A Pandor who grows past - is reconfigured by Ignis programming - to go beyond the boundaries that Ryoken set for her and experience full, unbridled sentience and all the madness that that has to offer. And from here, I’d evoke Ophelia as an archetype because you just know that an Ai/Pandor alliance or relationship would end in tragedy.

In her failing state, Pandor comes to the all unfailing conclusion that her human master, Ryoken, was right and it is all too much for her to handle and she starts to degrade, devolve, because whilst her chassis is much stronger than a vacuum cleaner robot’s, it’s still not powerful enough to handle the Ignis programming frankensteined into her because... because on some level, she wants and yearns to be human. Accepted by her human forefathers, unlike Ai (and Roboppy) who are keen to burn to it all. Destroy it all and that still goes against her baseline which is to protect her own.... once a Knight of Hanoi, always a Knight of Hanoi :(

[chibicrow]

what are you wishes and maybe even predictions for tomorrow's episode?

THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS QUESTION TO ASK ME FAM B/C BOI DO I HAVE.

A LOT.

Predictions:

Zetsubou, Kibou, Nakama, Kizuna. x 100000. B/c of course. And it’s all gonna be Playmaker saying those words b/c he’s gotta channel Yusei-senpai. 

Playmaker saying something about the Lost Incident and being alone but then something about how he’s not alone anymore and “Ai, it’s because of you.” 

(I BET YOU!!!! IT’S COMING!!! THE SAPPY SPEECH!!!)

Heck, probably lots of Lost Incident references.

So I don’t even want to think of what’ll happen to Ai after the duel concludes, but I can’t shake off the feeling that all of the Origins are gonna get something that reminds them of their Ignis by the time this episode is over...... 😭

But I mean considering Shin Yoshida is the series composer and there have been a lot of ZeXal plot references, I’m kinda hoping this means we get a super sappy moment between Ai and Playmaker and also Ai gets “redeemed” somehow. 

(also maybe a repeat of when Flame was all “we’re always with you” except with Ai in regards to like the Ignis and their Origins??? I dunno)

ok, so I guess that’s all the predictions I can think of that aren’t blatantly “I just want this to happen” so here are my wishes for the final episode dlakfjdsljfa:

Wishes:

Please. Let Ai or Playmaker or both call the other aibou. I BEG YOU, VRAINS.

LET FUJIKI YUSAKU CALL HOMURA TAKERU “TAKERU” YOU GOT DAMN COWARDS!!!!!

ALSO LET KOGAMI RYOKEN JUST CALL YUSAKU YUSAKU YOU COWARDS!!!!!!

Please . . . I just need to know Windy’s Origin’s name . . . VRAINS pls . . .

if human Ai doesn’t do the Caramelldansen I will riot. actually I won’t but he’s literally called back to EVERYTHING else like come on.

so apparently BS gets rights in this episode (but Miyu and Pandor don’t??? sounds sketch) so he’s gonna apologize to my sunshine boi since he apparently has Development(tm) now or else

So Kiku speaks in this episode which I hope means she gon tease my boi about his fear of ghosts. come on VRAINS we need to bring that back if only for the last episode.

(i just realized tho where are Takeru’s grandparents oh no) 

Also Jin speaks so . . . YUSAKU AND TAKERU AND AOI AND JIN MEETING 2K19 COME ON!!!!!

For Spectre to speak more than a sentence ADLKFJASDLFKJASF.

Oh wait speaking of the Knights since Takeru was like “y’all can’t go to jail lmao”

I NEED

I NEED A SCENE

WITH ALL THE KNIGHTS

AT CAFE NAGI

HOLY SHIT THAT WOULD BE AMAZING.

(even tho Ryoken was like “Farewell, Fujiki Yusaku” but I don’t trust him.) 

And then Hot Dog Man’s like “why tf are there so many people here.”

Actually if everyone could show up at Cafe Nagi that’d be great.

Or Stardust Road.

OR BOTH!!!!!

Also if With the Wind could be a final insert song since we haven’t had any insert songs in the series that’d be awesome.

OR IF THE SERIES ENDED W/ PLAYMAKER’S MAIN THEME. THAT’D BE. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. 

yeah that’s all I got lmao. let’s see how much of it actually happens tho. 

[merryfortune]

sorry to use you as a vehicle to gush for some ships that no one really wants to listen to me gush. I’ll put em under a cut since I have a lot to say apparently. also rip these are all rare pairs or dead fandoms or rare pairs from dead fandoms. also they’re from anime & video game fandoms

first up, can I interest you in the darkest entry in this list: Eirika x Valter from Fire Emblem Sacred Stones 👀

I like redemptive!Valter becoming Eirika’s pet villain who makes everyone listen to her in her war meetings as crown princess but I also like murder as a love language with Eirika killing Valter because that’s about the extent of their canonical relationship (on her end anyway; on his end, Valter is obsessed with her if you like a bit of obsessive love)

pros: they get unique dialogue as enemies with lots of imagery of taming Eirika (but I like Eirika taming him)

Valter calls her a ripe peach

cons: Valter does die canonically in chapter 14 of the game but whatever

also there’s only 9 entries in their ao3 tag.... almost most of them mine

next I’d like to introduce you to the light-weight category of this gush: Daruizen x Nodoka from Healin’ Good PreCure

They have such a wonderful dichotomy and cannot exist in equillibrium with each other because their very sides require the destruction of the other as Daruizen is the infecting virus and Nodoka is the purging cure. 

Also Daruizen was literally the reason for Nodoka’s illness when she was a child and she was his host

honestly PreCure mightn’t be very dark but there’s a lot of heroines and a lot villains so surely there’s gotta be something which could potentially butter your bread. I also like Haruka x Close, their one on one battle in episode 12 (i think it was episode 12) was very Beauty and the Beast which I adore, personally.

another rare pair from the sort of medium dark section, if you stretch the definition of heroine, Pandor x Ai from Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains, a mutual described them in terms of Hades and Persephone once and I still think about that. Pandor as the sheltered maiden of Hanoi and Ai the dashing rogue who entices her with things like free will and I also find it irrationally sexy that Ai can’t touch Pandor because she’s got a built in anti-AI shield

Aoi x Ryoken & Aoi x Spectre from the same series is also fun

oh and Ray x Zarc from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V should definitely get a shout out. Bonus points for reincarnation love and monster forms and Ray kicking ass and saving the world. They’re actually a very popular ship.

there’s probably some other ships from yugioh as well but these are the ones which came to mind first

Could anyone recommend me some new dark ships? Doesn't need to be canon, could be completely fanon or a crossover. I just want new villain x heroine ships to explore 😭

[incorrect-vrains-quotes]

if you are still taking these, how about Aoi x Pandor and/or Aqua x Pandor?

yeah still taking these

- Mod Playmaker

Aoi x Pandor

almost thought this was a complete crack pairing before I remembered. Blue Maiden did team up with Pandor, albeit briefly 

hm, doesn’t really do it for me but I do like the angle of Pandor as replacement goldfish for Aqua (oh how the tables have tabled)

but that would be about it, although Aoi would be a smol next to Pandor’s tol android body so that gives it an almost grudging +1 to its appeal

I would be open to hearing other people’s opinions on it since I’ve never thought much about this possibility but I will write it down as a possible 2021 Femslash Feb pairing lol (this year’s theme was supposed to be unnamed pairings; next year’s theme is ships I haven’t done yet with a focus on a5 though bc their tumblr has that sweet sweet sort by f/f section)

Aqua x Pandor

and yeah another Pandor ship which doesn’t quite do it for me. I wrote it out of request once and I didn’t enjoy those 800 words or whatever. Like I can barely remember what that ficlet was about. Pandor shield programming I think?

they’re very meh, they feel like they would be oil on water for me but I’d be open to being convinced otherwise since they’re a never met ship and whatnot

but for the most part, I think they would be as interesting as paint drying on the wall because they’re too similar maybe??? 

Like I will forever stan the concept that Ryoken was inspired by Aqua specifically when he made Pandor. I feel like there are parallels between them (those calm, serene demeanour, the playing the psychological appeal angle to their analysis, etc)